PRETORIA — Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation and ANC NEC member David Mahlobo has advocated for strategic public-private partnerships to address South Africa’s escalating water challenges, emphasizing that private sector involvement must assist municipalities without transferring ownership of public assets.
Speaking on the ongoing review of the party’s 2021 local government election manifesto, Mahlobo highlighted that while national water access has progressed to 91.3%—up from 86%—the definition of “access” merely indicates the presence of a tap in a yard or at a communal stand. Serious operational challenges persist, with communities continuing to battle leaking pipes, broken pumps, and severe water shortages. The crisis has even prompted calls from the South African Human Rights Commission for a national disaster to be declared.
Mahlobo acknowledged that water reliability, defined as the consistent availability of water throughout the year, has declined due to technical and institutional support deficits at the municipal level. Echoing the ANC’s January 8 statement, he stressed that resolving water issues is inextricably linked to fixing local government. Under the newly unveiled National Water Action Plan, the national government is prepared to intervene where municipalities fail to meet their legal obligations. This includes deploying state water boards and redirecting municipal grants to district or alternative implementing agents when local performance falters.
A critical hurdle remains the staggering loss of resources before they reach consumers. According to the Water Project, 35% to 40% of treated municipal water is lost to burst pipes, leaks, and illegal connections. To combat this, Mahlobo proposed a multi-tiered approach. District municipalities with proven capacity, such as those in Mpumalanga that successfully stabilized areas like Standerton, should assist struggling local councils. Additionally, local business concessions, such as Caesar Water supplying areas in KwaZulu-Natal, demonstrate the viability of localized support.
The ANC is also exploring a new model involving Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), where state water entities and municipalities form joint organizations to manage services. Mahlobo was careful to note that while bringing in the private sector is not a taboo, it must be done without relinquishing public ownership of water assets.
Addressing the illicit “water tanker mafia,” Mahlobo condemned individuals who collude with officials and politicians to vandalize functioning infrastructure, artificially creating demand to sell water at inflated prices. To eliminate this exploitation, several municipalities are now insourcing water tanker operations to ensure sustainable, community-focused service delivery.
Mahlobo revealed that addressing the backlog and improving reliability to the targeted 80% by 2030 will require an estimated R400 billion. To manage this, the government is pushing for performance-based contracts that bring in private sector partners at their own financial risk to replace thousands of kilometers of aging pipes. This approach allows municipalities to simultaneously incubate their own technical skills and financial liquidity.
To facilitate these structural changes, the Water Services Amendment Bill is currently before Parliament. The legislation aims to separate municipal oversight authority from actual water provision, allowing for the issuance of operating licenses to specialized state entities, a model already successfully utilized by organizations like Umgeni Water.
Finally, Mahlobo emphasized the ANC’s accountability framework, which mandates that public representatives maintain rigorous, transparent communication with citizens. He advocated for the establishment of dedicated “water committees” at the ward level, similar to school governing bodies. These community structures would oversee security, operation, and maintenance, ensuring residents are active participants in resolving local water challenges. He cited a recent decentralized groundwater treatment scheme as a prime example, where community-formed structures successfully managed the facility’s ongoing operational needs.
Through these combined legislative, financial, and community-driven reforms, Mahlobo asserts that the government can systematically restore reliable water access across the country.